Who Are You Dating, Anyway?
by MusicRocks807
Summary: Still insecure is his newly-developed relationship with Karai, Leo begins to get a little suspicious... of Shinigami. (Rated T for mature implications/themes)


Dating was a rocky road. It was full of ups and downs and uncertainty, like a rollercoaster you can't quite see the end of – or at least, that's what Leo had been taught by media. He hadn't been so sure at first, since Master Splinter's love with Tang Shen had always sounded like smooth sailing, but he realised its truth once he grew older. Once he met _her_. If those TV writers thought dating was hard normally, they should've tried it with someone who was raised to hate them and turned out to be their sister. Really, his relationship with Karai should have crashed and burned at the Worldwide Genome Project, gone along with Justin.

But it hadn't. Somehow, in spite of everything they had gone through, he and Karai had maintained their connection, and it had flourished into something more as soon as circumstances allowed it. When Karai had returned and established her new Foot Clan, she had approached him about a partnership; eventually, those talks had dissolved into them making out on Shredder's old throne, and from there it just escalated. His brothers had shown very mixed opinions towards it, but overall it had been okay, apart from some teasing. As long as they didn't get too cosy in public, everyone had pretty much accepted it as inevitable.

All in all, the relationship was going well, better than he had expected; their options for date nights were obviously limited, but sometimes they would sneak into the local movie theatre and hide in the rafters to watch the latest flick, and sometimes they didn't need to go out at all for a special evening. After his nightly patrol with his brothers, he would drop into the Foot headquarters and wait for her by the throne, fidgeting nervously every time regardless of how safe he knew it was. Sometimes Shinigami would join him, and he would help her with the western video games she loved – and completely sucked at.

He had to admit, he quite liked Shini. She was polite enough but still witty, and he knew from experience that she could fight. Really, they should have been good friends; he supposed they were, maybe, but he was wary of her. More specifically, he was wary of her being around his girlfriend (Karai was his girlfriend now!).

They were very… touchy. She would lean into Karai's shoulder, or sit too close to her, or kiss her on the cheek, and Karai always reciprocated. Once, just to spite him, she had planted a firm kiss on Shini's lips during a group movie night. Casey had wolf-whistled his approval. Mikey had found it hilarious. Leo? Less so.

He wasn't quite sure why the thoughts were in his head this time, as he sat on the throne's steps waiting for Karai. Maybe it was how close Shinigami was sitting, their knees brushing, as she leaned in to show him her video game that reminded him. Her hair tickled his arm and he imagined it tickling Karai's, jealousy prickling through him.

Worst of all, Shinigami noticed his shift in mood. She paused her game to ask him, "Are you all right, Leonardo?"

"You can call me Leo," he reminded her half-heartedly. "And yeah, I'm fine."

"You do not seem it," she informed him, but she let the subject drop. That was something else he liked about her, she didn't push a topic that obviously made him uncomfortable. They would be fantastic friends if he didn't think she might steal his girlfriend.

They played for a little while longer, Leo desperately trying to save face, before Karai entered. She glanced over them briefly, assessing _something_ , then crossed the hall to join them. She was wearing her usual black jumpsuit; they were staying in tonight. Leo's stomach twisted with something other than worry. Karai bent down and squeezed in between them, Shini's leg under hers and Leo's shell pressing into her shoulder. He slipped an arm around her to reassure himself. When the level was finished, Karai stood again, pulling Leo with her this time.

"Right, come on. We've got some _business_ to get down to," she said with a wink. "Shini, I'll see you tomorrow."

Shinigami reached up for a hug; Karai rolled her eyes and leaned down to return it, pecking her on the cheek as she did so. Shini giggled, "Goodnight, my senpai."

"'Night, loser," she muttered, shaking her head fondly.

She led Leonardo through the dark corridors he was slowly growing accustomed to, until they reached the door to her room. It had been personalised since her days as Shredder's child, but it was still rather minimal; a small bookshelf, a weapons rack, a wardrobe and large Japanese futon. That had been even weirder to Leo than sleeping in Foot headquarters; he and his brothers all had western bedframes, so lying flat on the floor had felt unnatural at first. Of course, the sleeping was never really his main concern.

It certainly wasn't now, as Karai closed the door gently and began to remove her armour. When she was left in just her black jumpsuit, she dragged him down onto the futon with her, kissing at his throat. He wrapped his arms around her automatically, his lips brushing over the crown of her head, but his mind was still elsewhere. Karai could tell. Karai could _always_ tell, and she pushed herself up into a sitting position atop Leo's thigh, keeping his leg pinned in place.

"Okay," she sighed, "what's up?"

Feigning innocence, Leo put on a grin. "What? Nothing. I'm good."

"No you're not." So much for that act. He had never been any good at hiding his feelings from her. "What is it? Trouble in paradise?"

He snorted. "The lair is not paradise. Casey basically lives there now, and April isn't far off; paradise would be a lot less chaotic."

"Stop splitting hairs." She swatted his shoulder and pretended it hadn't hurt her hand. "Tell me what's wrong or you're not sleeping in here."

Her little threat didn't have the desired effect. She had been hoping for a blush, or some awkward stammering, but Leo was growing out of that now. And he wasn't in the mood, anyway. She realised that and dropped the act, sliding off his thigh and drawing her knees up to her chest.

"You need to talk to me, Leo."

The sigh heaved its way through his chest. She was right, as usual. He couldn't keep it from her forever, and really, he shouldn't want to – they should be open with each-other. So he swallowed his pride and asked, "You and Shini aren't a thing, are you?"

Karai blinked, caught off-guard. "What?"

"You and Shini," he repeated, growing in confidence now. "You two haven't… you know, done anything? You're not a thing?"

"Are you asking if I'm sleeping with her?"

He winced; it sounded so much worse when she put it bluntly. "Uh… Kinda?"

He should have expected the slap, but it still hurt when it connected with his face. Karai looked furious, but her eyes were suspiciously shiny. "You think I'm cheating on you."

"Wha- No, I mean- I mean that sounds super bad." Leo winced again. He really should have planned this out better. "It's like-"

"Do you not think I care about us, is that it?" Karai turned her back on him then, but didn't bolt as he had feared. "You think it means nothing to me?"

"No!" He reached out, catching her arm before she could swipe it away. "I'm sorry, Karai, I'm just paranoid. I know you care. I just got worried."

"About Shini?" The hurt was fading from her voice, just a tiny bit.

"Well…" He felt the heat creep into his cheeks. "Yeah, I guess. You guys are so… _touchy_."

She shrugged; his hand fell away, but she shifted to face him again. "We're _close_ , Leo. For a long time, she was all I had. That's not going to go away."

"I know, and I don't want it to, I'm glad you two are so close." He inched his hand over to grip her knee, and felt a rush of hope when she let him. "I just got a little paranoid. Sorry, 'Rai."

With a heavy sigh, she shuffled closer, settling her head into the crook of his neck. He held her against him, his face buried in her hair. It smelled like apples. A grin spread across his face; she hadn't bothered with scented products until she became their friend and had to hang out in the sewers. It was nice to see the big change reflecting in the littler ones.

"You can't freak out every time I hug another person, Leo," she said softly.

He sighed. "Yeah. I'm just a little insecure, but that's my problem, not yours."

Karai hummed thoughtfully. "Guess it kind of is now. We can work on it; what're you afraid of?"

Raising an eyebrow like it was obvious, Leo replied very slowly, "You leaving me?"

"Well, that won't happen, so stop worrying about it," she stated firmly. "Think about everything we've gone through, Leo; you really think I'm going to give it up because I don't feel a shell when I hug Shini?"

When she put it that way, it did sound a little ridiculous. "I guess not," he admitted.

"Exactly. So calm down and kiss me."

It was good advice, so he did. She climbed into his lap as their mouths moved together, her arms sliding up to wrap around his neck. As he lay back against the pillows, Karai's body flush against his, all of his fears had vanished. She was right; he had nothing to worry about. And if the price to pay for a relationship with the girl of his dreams was a very affectionate best friend, it certainly wasn't that expensive.

"You know," Karai mused, breaking their kiss but keeping her face close to his, "if you're really torn up about this Shini thing, there _is_ a solution…"

He frowned; that wasn't a good tone of voice. "What is it?"

Karai was full-on smirking now, her eyes sparkling with mischief. "A straight guy, two bi girls? I think you can figure it out."

The feeling that shot through Leo's body next was uncomfortably pleasant and pleasantly uncomfortable. Stammering for words, his mouth going dry, he struggled to think of a suitable response. Karai just laughed, pulling him in for another kiss.

Although he had to admit, there were worse situations to be in.


End file.
